Newsletter

I get a lot of rules questions on a daily basis, so from time to time I will write about a few in order to help with some of the confusion. This month, I will talk about the most common incidents that occur on the putting green. These can occur quite frequently especially since this is the final destination on each hole.

A player replaces his/her ball on the putting green. A gust of wind blows the ball to a new position. What is the ruling? The ball is played from its new position; the ball was in play when replaced even though the player didn’t remove the ball marker. (Decision 20-4/1)

A player rotates his ball on the putting green without marking it. The player incurs a one stroke because he didn’t mark the ball. (Decision 18-2a/33)

A ball mark on the putting green can be repaired even if the ball is off the putting surface.

A player may use a towel or a cap to brush away loose impediments on his line of putt, provided he/ she doesn’t press anything down. (Decision 16-1a/8)

A player may not brush dew or frost from his/ her line of putt. (Decision 16-1a/3)

A player putts with one hand and catches the ball with his/ her other hand after the ball is below the level of the lip of the hole. What is the ruling? The ball is not holed. Since the player purposely stopped his/ her moving ball, he/ she is in breach of rule 1-2 (exerting Influence on Ball). In stroke play, the penalty is 2 strokes and the ball must be placed on the lip of the hole. In , the penalty is loss of hole. (Decision 1-2/5)

A player may hold the flagstick in one hand and hole a short putt gripping the in his/ her other hand, provided the flagstick has been removed from the hole and the ball does not strike it. (Decision 17-1/5)

A player hits a shot on a -3 hole and it is overhanging the hole. After taking a reasonable amount of time to get to his/ her ball: -the ball falls in the hole after 5 seconds (score=1) -the ball falls in the hole after 15 seconds; the player incurs a 1 stroke penalty and the ball is holed (score=2) -after 15 seconds, the ball does not fall in; the player taps in (score=2) You are given 10 seconds after you arrive at the hole to determine if the ball is at rest. (rule16-2)

Player A and B both lie on the putting green. A putts and strikes B’s ball, A’s ball goes in the hole. What is the ruling? In stroke play, A incurs a two-stroke penalty and the ball is holed. In match play, A incurs no penalty and the ball is holed. In either form of play, B incurs no penalty and must replace the ball. (Rule 19-5a and Rule 18-5)

Who can mark and lift a player’s ball on the putting green? A ball to be lifted under the rules may be lifted by the player, his partner, or another person authorized by the player. This means that a player’s partner does not need authorization to mark and lift his/ her partner’s ball. Keep in mind that a can mark a player’s ball (see Decision 6-4/10), but he can only lift it if the player authorizes him to do so. (Rule 20-1)

The key point to all of this is that many things can happen on the putting green, and you want to be mindful of the do’s and don’ts relative to this special area and be ready to make the appropriate rulings. You can always look up any rulings on www.usga.org